Fire Chief Jeff Tierney said with the investigation by the fire marshal and the police department ongoing, it was too early to talk about the fire's origin.

Most of the morning and afternoon, the road in front of the apartment was closed to traffic. Police reopened the road by evening.

Jose Carlos Santos arrived at Santos' Deli and Pastry on Newtown Road where Faria's sister, Aparecida Faria, worked. Santos found it closed with a note on the front door - "Closed Emergency - We're mourning the death of Cida's sister (Liliane)."

He learned about the details through an employee at the bakery.

"I was told that Cida woke up with her sister's screams, and that at that point, there were flames everywhere," said Santos.

"It's believed that the fire was caused by the electric heater in Liliane's room. Cida broke a window and really tried to save her sister, but there was no time," he said.

Liliane Faria, described as tall with dark long hair and sad dark eyes, had lived in Danbury for the past five months, moving here from Brazil. She worked as a baby sitter.

At Faria's arrival in Danbury five months ago her fiance, Vinicius Silva, introduced her to his church. They met in their hometown, Governador Valadares, and became engaged about a month ago. The couple attended services every Sunday night.

Vilma Almeida Santos, who had been working at the bakery and restaurant for the past five years. frequently talked to Liliane.

"Many times she would come to visit us at the bakery just to spend time. She's kind and sweet, but always looked very sad," said Vilma Santos.

On the day before the tragic fire, Liliane shared with Vilma Santos the reason for her unhappiness.

"She said it was too hard to live away from her homeland, and her parents. She said 'I'd rather live in a shack with a bicycle back home than here. I'm so lonely."

When Liliane dropped Vilma Santos at her home they exchanged her last words, "I told her that the beginning was always hard. She needed to get involved with the church's youth group or something, but that God would do what was best for her. She looked at me with a smile and said she really hoped so."

The apartment house was deemed uninhabitable by fire officials.

Irineu Souza, 40, lived on the second floor. He was away at his job cleaning a supermarket when he got a call from one of his neighbors saying his house was on fire. He came back to find his home blocked by police tape . He was allowed in at 4:30 p.m. and left his apartment holding a few pieces of clothing, a pillow and a comforter.